On the occasion of the visit to Cuba by the Chinese Premier Li Keqiang, Cuba and China signed 12 agreements on Saturday, September 24, to increase cooperation between the two countries in renewable energy; medical research; information technology; industrial development; customs security; banking and financial collaboration; and environmental protection.
Shortly after official talks, the Premier of the Asian giant and Army General Raúl Castro Ruz, President of the Councils of State and Ministers of Cuba, together with important leaders of the two countries, witnessed the signing ceremony of these legal instruments.
Among the agreements signed are the cancellation of Cuban debt by China and four credit agreements for different projects on the island, such as the modernization of the production of the press and other graphic materials, the installation of a wind farm and the creation of a bioelectric plant attached to the Héctor Rodríguez sugar mill in Villa Clara.
Also established was a strategic framework agreement of cooperation between the city government of Chengdu, located in southwest China, and the BioCubaFarma enterprise group, for the creation of a brain mapping research project.
The ceremony also saw the signing of two Exchange of Notes, to formalize donations for the purchase of equipment for technological modernization of the island’s customs and raw materials for the production of solar panels.
A Memorandum of Understanding concerning the updating of the bilateral economic agenda and a further four instruments between the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine of China and the Cuban ministries of Food Industry, Agriculture, Public Health and the General Customs of the Republic, were also signed.
During his first day in Havana, the Chinese Premier paid tribute to Cuban National Hero, José Martí.
Accompanied by Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez, member of the Political Bureau of the Party Central Committee and first vice president of the Councils of State and Ministers, the Chinese leader laid a floral wreath at the statue of Martí in the Plaza de la Revolución.
China and Cuba have enjoyed diplomatic relations for 56 years and the Asian giant is currently the island’s second largest trading partner, with an economic exchange of $1.6 trillion dollars.
The authorities of the two nations have acknowledged their desire to raise economic cooperation to the level of their political ties, which are the best they have been in their shared history.
